44. Priorities

The third round becomes a stamina duel. Fighting one-armed, Jake alternates dodges, scimitar cuts, and bow shots, noting his arrows disrupt the golem’s movements. When his potion cooldown ends, he drinks, rapidly stabilizes his injuries, and presses the advantage as the weakening golem grows increasingly sloppy.

Jake baits a downward smash, grabs the electrified Pillar, and detonates arcane force through a kick to pry it free. He stores the weapon, clamps the golem’s neck with a healing-green grip while tanking weak punches, and decapitates it, earning class and race levels.

An automated spatial retrieval triggers to reclaim the corpse. Jake’s inventory grab fails, so he blasts disruptive mana and erects an improvised arcane barrier, even channeling Limit Break’s stamina “steam.” The teleport only takes the limbs, letting him store the torso and head before deactivating Limit Break and resting.

As he recuperates, Jake reflects on the risky dive and his barrier’s resemblance to a prior skill option. He pointedly addresses the unseen observer. Elsewhere, the Dungeon Monitor—an elven hologram—assesses Jake as reckless, adaptive, and likely arcane-affinitied, tentatively ranking him category N.

Seeking an exit, Jake locates a teleport atop the obelisk that housed numerous inert Altmar golem shells. Returned to the dynamo, a beam opens a shaft, and a voice invites him up. In a control room, the holographic Monitor greets him and asks questions, but Jake insists on “loot first.”

He inspects three lockboxes: rare, epic, and ancient. Opening the rare box, he gains the Altmar Prismatic Cloak—stealth-enhancing, self-repairing, and protective—then pockets it while the Monitor offers context about its Altmar craftsmanship and popularity.